Lounge chair



00;. 13, 1953 F. J. LUKETA 2,655,199

LOUNGE CHAIR Filed Feb. 7, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. FRANK J lU/(ETA Oct. 13, 1953 F. J. LUKETA 2,655,199

. LOUNGE CHAIR Filed Feb. '7, 1950 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. FRANK J. All/(ETA.

A TTORNE Y6 LOUNGE CHAIR 4 sheets-s 3 Filed Feb, 7' 1950 I INVENTOR,

FRANK JZUKEIA M MflW unw F. J. LUKETA LOUNGE CHAIR 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 7, 1950 INVENTOR.

FRANK J All/(ETA A TTORNE rs Patented Oct. 13, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LOUNGE CHAIR:

Fianna Lulieta, senate-wash;

Application- February 7, 1950;serialx01142325 e o1aims.-= (01. 155-405) This inventionconcernsa lounge chaircwhichy in common with my other applications-hereinafteridentified, has two main body-supporting members, a seat and a back respectively, each tiltably supported for movement independently of the other,.theircommon tilting axis being cated: in the vicinity of the'upperrear edge of the seat, and which chair also-has-two auxiliary body-supporting members; ahead rest and: a leg rest re'spectively,-each supported for tilting, the head rest relative to the swinging edge of the back and the leg rest relative to the swinging edge of the seat, and one or both' of which may be projected and retracted relative to" its main body-supporting member. Reversible power means permits or efiec'ts'each such movernent' of each such member independently of anyother movement, the controls to such'ends being located conveniently to the chairs'oecupant.

The presentchair in-many respects resembles" that disclosed my" abandoned application Serial No. 723,171; filed January 2'0',"1947.' There i'nthe seat andtheback are tiltabl' about a common axis, definedby coaxial but unconnected tru-nn'ion's; projecting outwardly from the twosides thereof. The power being" applied atone side for tilting the seat, and at the" otherside" for tilting the back, it is necessary to equalize the application of' such power in order to avoid sagging of the opposite side, wherefore" such power was transmitted from side to side by a countershaft oifset from" the tilting axis, and connected at its two ends to the two correspond ing trunnions; In contrast tothe construction of that'abandoned"applicatiomtthe present con"- struction simplifies and' condenses the countershaft construction, and connects it more directly, hence more rigidly and strongly"; toithe'trunnioh's.

It is desirable that no gapvof' variable width be left between-the adjoining edges of the seat and back, for there is the possibility thatmessenthere is a-simplification ofthe drive connection,

and certain structural modifications to obtain like results with the changed drive mechanism.

In connection with theleg rest in particular, which is projectable as well as tiltableyif it is depressedwhile it isextended'or even if the'seat' whereon itis pivotally supported be depressed under like conditions, the leg rest may contact the floor, and damage may result to the mechanism unless under suchcircumstances the power may be disconnected at'once and automatically. My Case O discloses means to that end, and hereinis disclosed other and simplified means to the same endywhich is likewise helpful in the assembly and disassembly of the chair, and which can be applied equally well to the head rest and its support.

The leg rest, and preferably also the headrest, is projectable and retractable in addition to being tiltable, being supported on telescopingly insupporting The present invention, then, comprisesan a r rangement'of the several elements, each old in itself, in a novel'and'sim'plified way, to" the endsalready'indic'ated. Further objects and advantages will appear hereinafter.

In the accompanying' drawings the invention is shownemb'odied-in a typical form, such'as is presently preferredby me Figure 1 is a general plan View of the chair,

the seat and back b'eing each 'slio'wn'in section,-

the 1a es'ofmeirsections meeting at the commen tilting axis.-

Figure 2 is a general sideelevational view, with the side armsin section'along the line 2=2-of Figural.

Figure 3"is'-a"view similar to Figure 2, but showin'g parts in section along the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4' isin general a vertical axial sectional view along the line'of the-common tilting axis of the seat and back, the line bein'g'shown generally'at 4 ==4in Figurel.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3, omitting the back, however, and illustrating in particular a safety provision operable in the event of undue depression of the leg rest while it is extended.

Figure 6 is a detail isometric view of the support elements for the leg rest, disconnected in the same manner as in Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a detail view of the jackscrew for supporting and tilting the leg rest, illustrating in particular the manner of its connection to the leg rest, such as will permit disconnection in the manner illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, the viewpoint being suggested by the line I-l of Figure 3.

The seat I and the back 2, each pivotally supported upon the floor-engaging frame 3, constitute the main body-supporting members. The leg rest 4 is in this instance pivotally supported from the seat I, although upon an axis ofiset from the tilting axis of the seat, and the head rest 5 is likewise pivotally supported with respect to and upon the back 2, but also upon an axis offset from the tilting axis of the back. The tilting axis of the back and seat is an axis common to both of them, and preferably is located at the junction between the top surfaces of each thereof, that is to say, at the top rear edge of the seat and at the lower forward edge of the back, and these two main body-supporting members meet, without any substantial gap, along the line of their common tilting axis.

The leg rest and the head rest, constituting auxiliary body-supporting members, are, in addition to being tiltably supported, each projectable and retractable with respect to the swinging edge of the main body-supporting member with which they cooperate, respectively.

Each floor-engaging frame 3 is made up in general of forward and rearward floor-contacting elements, side elements connecting them in a generally rectangular tubular frame, and upright standards 39 which project through slots in and are disposed within hollow arms 29 which are secured at 28 (see Figure 2) to the back 2 to tilt with the latter.

The back 2 is pivotally mounted on hollow trunnions 26 which project outwardly from its opposite sides, and upon which, or formed as a part of which, are gear elements 2|, principally directed downwardly. The seat 5 is similarly pivotally supported upon short trunnion elements Ill, which project beyond the trunnions 26 outwardly from and are secured rigidly to the opposite sides of the seat l. These have formed as part thereof or secured to them, gear members i l, which also project more or less downwardly. The two trunnions are mounted for oscillation in the standard 39, the hollow trunnions 2G surrounding and moving about a sleeve 30 which is part of the standard 39, and the inner trunnions it being journaled within the sleeve 3d. Each of the trunnions is provided at its inner end with an attachment plate, such as that indicated at 2'! in Figure 2, which attaches the trunnions 20 to the back 2 by the screws 28 or equivalent means. In similar fashion the trunnions I ii ar secured to the seat.

Offset from the common axis of the trunnions 29 and Ill, and preferably a short distance below the same, are two cross shafts, l2 and 22, respectively, the shaft 22 being hollow and formed for ready assembly in two interfitting parts, as indicated at 220:, these two coaxial countershafts or cross shafts being journaled in the standards 39. The shaft 22 carries a gear member 23, and, the shaft l2 carries a gear member I3, which mesh with the respective gear elements 2I and I I. The

shafts I2 and 22 are located close enough to the common tilting axis that stresses are minimized, and yet sufficiently below the same that these concentric shafts I2, 22 will fit into the gap between the adjoining ends of the seat and back frames, and will never be contacted by the occupant of the chair. They will not interfere with the down-tilting of either of these main body supporting members, but instead the seat and the back may reach an approximately horizontal position if need be. Oscillation of the shaft I2 will effect oscillation of both trunnions I0 equally and of the seat I whereas oscillation of the shaft 22 will effect oscillation of the trunnions 2B equally and of the back 2.

Such oscillation is accomplished by connecting to the shaft 22 at one end a radial arm 24 (see Figure 1 at the bottom, and Figure 2) and by connecting to the shaft 42 a similar arm I4 (see Figure l at the top), and to these arms are connected jackscrew mechanisms which will shortly be described in greater detail, each of which is independently energizable. It will be observed that the tilting is initiated at one side only, but the stresses are equalized from side to side, and no sagging is permitted, because of the rigid and direct interconnection between the sides which is afforded through the cross shafts l2 and 22, respectively, and their direct gear connection at each side to the corresponding trunnions.

The leg rest is supported on telescopingly connected arms, of which the arm 4| is the innermost radially and the arm 42 slides therewithin. The arms 4| are connected across by a cross tube 43, which is tiltably mounted upon a supporting cross shaft 40 (see Figure 5), which is carried by a rearward extension of the frame of the seat I, at a point offset rearwardly of and below the common pivot axis of the seat and back. Any suitable mechanism, such as is disclosed in copending applications referred to hereinabove, but which is not shown here in detail, may be employed for extending or retracting the arms 42 with respect to the arms 4!, and the actuating means for so doing are indicated generally at 49. The tilting of the arms 4!, 42 is accomplished by jackscrew mechanism, including the jackscrew 48 and the rotating means therefor at 48a, as will be explained shortly in greater detail. Each of the arms, that is to say those at the opposite sides, are driven in common but each by separate actuating means.

Each jackscrew 48 is swivelly mounted at 4! upon the frame of the seat -I, and threaded upon it is a nut 46, which carries externally a headed stud 46a. This stud is receivable within a downwardly opening notch 45a of a collar 45, which iscarried upon the corresponding arms 4!. Each nut is provided with laterally outstanding wings 0r fingers, 4% (see in particular Figure 6), which engage the frame of the seat I and prevent rotation of the nut in response to rotation of the jackscrew 48. Moreover, the end of the jackscrew distant from the swivel mount at 4! is confined within a slot 44 for limited swinging movement as the jackscrew swivels and the arms 4I swing in a plane parallel to the side frame of the seat. It will now be evident that so long as the head 46a is engaged within the notch 45c, the nut will support the leg rest and its arms in any tilted position, and will raise or lower the same. However, when the downward movement, whether caused by downward movement of the nut 46 or by downward tilting of the supporting seat I, proceeds to such a point as is indicated in Figure 5, that the leg rest contacts the floor F before the powered downward movement ceases, the nut 46 will merely withdraw its stud 46a downwardly from the notch 45a, and no harm will result. Whenever the nut 46 is run up again along its screw 48, the stud 46a will reengage within the notch 45a, and thenceforward upward movement of the nut will raise the leg rest, as before. This provides a simple safety factor.

The head rest is similarly supported upon arm parts 51 and 52, similarly telescopingly interconnected and actuated by the drive element 59, and is similarly mounted upon the back by a tubular cross member 53 for tilting. In just the same fashion a screwjack 58, acted upon by a nut 56, serves to raise or lower the headrest with respect to the back. While there is less danger that downward movement of the headrest will encounter some immovable obstacle, nevertheless, interconnecting the nut 56 with the collar 55 in the same way as was described with respect to the leg rest, will serve as an ever-present safety factor, and the construction is further helpful in assembling or disassembling this part of the chair. Raising or lowering of the headrest is under control of the element 58a, which, like the element 48a, may be in the form of a flexible shaft, and each of the arm members 5|, one at each side, is directly connected to the drive through such a flexible shaft 58a.

Tilting of the seat and of the back may be similarly effected through jackscrews l8 and 28, acted upon by the flexible shafts 18a and 28a, respectively, these jackscrews carrying the nuts [5 and 25, respectively, connected to the arms [4 and 24.

A single motor M may serve as the motive power for all such movements, under control of switches S carried upon the arms 29 in position convenient to an occupant of the chair. The motor may be supported in a convenient location, as, for instance, on the under side of the seat I, and the power may be supplied selectively, to each of the mechanisms to be operated, through a selective power take-off illustrated at P. From the latter lead various flexible shafts through selective clutch mechanism to the power drives such as those at l8a, 28a, 48a, 49, 58a, and 59.

I claim as my invention:

1. A lounge chair comprising a floor-engaging frame, a main body-supporting member pivotally supported thereon for tilting, means so to tilt the same, an auxiliary body-supporting member disposed outwardly of the swinging edge of the main body-supporting member, arms on the outer ends whereof said auxiliary body-supporting member is supported, said arms being pivotally mounted at their inner ends upon the main body-supporting member to tilt with as well as relative to the latter, a jackscrew swivelly supported from the main body-supporting member, a nut non-rotatively engaged by the main bodysupporting member, and threaded upon said jackscrew, a notched element and a headed element, one on the nut and the other on said arms outwardly of their pivot support, and interengageable by downward swinging of the auxiliary body-supporting member and its arms relative to the nut, and disengageable by upward swinging thereof, and means to rotate said jackscrew to raise and lower said arms when parts are so engaged.

2. A lounge chair as in claim 1, wherein the nut is formed with lateral projections, and is disposed close alongside an upright surface of the main body-supporting member, where the projections may engage such surface to prevent rotation of the nut.

3. A lounge chair as in claim 2, including further, means constraining the lower end of the jackscrew to movement in a plane parallel to the upright surface.

4. A lounge chair as in claim 1, wherein the arms are formed in two relatively telescopingly connected parts, and means to extend or to retract the outer part relative to the inner part, for projection or retraction of the thus-supported auxiliary body-supporting member.

5. A lounge chair as in claim 1, wherein the axis of the pivotal mount of the inner end of the arms upon the main body-supporting member is offset in a horizontal direction from the tilting axis of said main body-supporting member.

6. A lounge chair as in claim 5, wherein the axis of the arms pivotal mount is offset to the rear of the tilting axis of the main body-supporting member.

FRANK J. LUKETA.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

